Arnold and Helga: Finally Together
by lauren.dorseyemery
Summary: I started writing a sequel to my last story, Arnold and Helga: A Love Story. I recommend reading that first. Enjoy and I hope to get great reviews! i'm still writing it.:


_**Arnold and Helga: Finally Together**_

**JAIL IN UPSTATE OREGON**

Lila and Rhonda often complain about the jail's crappy food, the tack orange jumpsuits and how dirty the prison was. Plus, there was no mall, hair or nail salon. Sure there was a TV, but no cable. This jail was no place for a couple of princesses like these girls. Rhonda cried every night about missing out on the rest of high school, starting college and missing Harold. Lila cried every night about not only ruining her own future, but taking her friends down with her. And her actions ultimately allowed Arnold and Helga to be together. Rhonda and Lila suffered from a deep depression. The only time Rhonda and Harold even got to talk was when they used their one phone call on each other. Harold was pretty miserable, too. The only thing he didn't complain about was the food seeing as he pretty much at anything.

Suddenly, Lila had been suffering from sleep insomnia and she had little to no energy. Rhonda thought it was a result of her depression from being locked up.

Until one day, Rhonda walked into their bathroom and saw Lila keeled over the toilet throwing up. She pulled her long red hair back for her. "Lila, what the hell is wrong with you? It's probably this nasty ass food getting to you."

Lila finally stopped throwing up. "Girl, I really hope that's all this is."

Rhonda seemed worried. She hoped Lila wasn't trying to tell her what she thinks she was trying to her. "Please tell me you and Arnold always used protection everytime you had sex."

Lila's eyes widened. "No, we never used condoms."

Rhonda was trying to be hopeful. "Well, aren't you at least on birth control?"

Lila bit her lip. "No, me and Arnold kind of had sex…unplanned. I actually planned on waiting til I was married, but with him he made the first move and it just kind of happened."

Rhonda shook her head. "Lila how could you be so stupid?"

Lila was near tears now. "I was in love with Arnold! I thought we were going to be together! I'm still in love with him."

"Well, I hope you're not pregnant. You do realize that you're 16 now and you won't see your baby until you get out, especially being a minor," Rhonda pointed out.

Lila wiped her mouth. "No shit! My dad would have to take care of it."

Rhonda thought for a minute. "What about Arnold?"

Lila had to know for sure. "I have to ask the guard for a pregnancy test. They obviously won't let us leave here."

Rhonda left the bathroom to find the nearest female guard. "My friend's sick and tired all the time. She might need to take a pregnancy test."

"When was the last time you had sex?" The guard asked.

Lila rolled her eyes. "A few weeks before I was arrested."

The guard didn't say anything and left to go get a test from the office. Lila stared at the box, then she looked at Rhonda and the guard. "Umm, a little privacy please," she said closing the stall.

The guard stood out in the hallway and Rhonda waited in the bathroom.

Ten minutes passed and the bathroom door swung open.

"It's positive. I'm pregnant," Lila could barely get out the words.

Rhonda didn't want it to be true. She had already ruined her life enough. "It might be a false positive. Why don't we get a doctor's opinion?"

They showed the guard the positive result and the guard called in a physician. After being examined for about 30 minutes, the doctor said "the test was right, you are pregnant. Since you can't keep a baby in jail once it's born, who should we list as the guardians 9 months from now?"

"Call my father, Bill Sawyer, and call the baby's father, Arnold Shortman,"Lila replied.

**TO BE CONTINUED… **

**_Part 2_**

"Phone call for you, Arnold!" Oskar shouted from the kitchen. It was almost 2:00 in the afternoon on a Saturday, but Arnold just didn't want to get up. Last night was the first night that Helga had stayed the night. They didn't do anything because Helga wanted to take things slow and Arnold understood that. But they sure love cuddling and they were just inseparable.

Arnold rolled his eyes. "I guess I have to go take this call. I'll be right back," he said kissing Helga on the cheek.

Arnold picked up the phone. "Arnold Shortman?" A strange voice said on the other end.

"Yes?" Arnold said nervously.

"This is Ms. Powers. I'm a guard at the Upstate Oregon prison. Lila Sawyer has asked to speak to you about her baby."

Arnold's heart stopped. "Co-could I speak to her now?"

Lila got on the phone. "Arnold, listen, I just found out I was pregnant and just because I can't see our baby for 10 years, I still want you to get to know him or her."

Arnold was silent for a minute. "Umm, sure. I'll be there for the baby. _Our_ baby."

"Thanks, Arnold, well I have to go now, but you might have to come here when I go to doctors' appointments and stuff for the baby. I'll keep you posted," Lila said.

Arnold agreed and hung up the phone. He was so angry! He thought he was finally rid of this girl. He finally gets Helga and he has a baby on the way. He knew it had to be his. Lila was around him so much and it was unlikely that she'd cheat. Plus, he knew that they never used condoms and Lila wasn't on any type of birth control. How could he be so stupid and not think of the consequences? Well, what was done was done and he had to be there for his child, especially with the mother of his child in prison. For trying to murder his current girlfriend. This was a dysfunctional family already.

Helga comes bouncing down the stairs. She was so happy again for a change. "Hey, babe. Who was that on the phone?"

Arnold had to tell Helga the truth. He had waited long enough to be with the love of his life and he wasn't about to start lying to her now. "That was Lila. She's having my child," he said simply.

"Uh-huh," Helga said. "She said she never cheated with Arnie, but you can never know for sure."

"Well, after the baby's born, we can do a paternity test, but I'm pretty sure it's mine. I know for a fact that I was her first," Arnold stated.

"How do you know that?" Helga demanded.

"For one thing, she was so in love with me, that she tried to kill you. For another thing, even if she _had _cheated with Arnie or anyone else she's only a few weeks pregnant and we were still together not long ago. Plus, she wanted to wait until she was married to have sex. She only did it with me because I wanted to and she just wanted me to be happy," Arnold said.

"Well, is she going to keep it?" Helga had to ask.

Arnold was taken aback. "Are you suggesting she abort my child?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "Arnold, you're 16, Lila's 16 and in jail. We all go off to college next year. We still have to finish high school. Do you really want to deal with a baby right now?"

Arnold was hearing this. "I can't help but think you'd want to keep the baby if you were the one pregnant by me."

"Excuse me?" Helga was shocked.

"Look, I thought Lila was out of the picture, too. I'm not thrilled about raising a kid with her, even when she gets out of jail. But I have to accept responsibility for my own actions."

Helga actually couldn't help but smile. Most guys get new girlfriends and when their exes say they're pregnant they don't own up to their kids. Arnold was being a real man. "I have no choice but to respect your decision."

Arnold hugged her. "I knew you'd be there for me, baby."

Helga hugged back, but she secretly wished Lila would fall down a flight of stairs.

**TO BE CONTINUED… **

**_Part 3_**

A few weeks passed since Lila told Arnold she was pregnant. It was now time for him, Helga, and their friends to start their junior year of high school. It was Friday and school started on Monday. Today was the day, Arnold, Helga, Phoebe, and Gerald were supposed to go shopping for school supplies and new clothes. But at the last minute Lila called Arnold and there was a change of plans. Phoebe and Gerald would have to go shopping without Arnold and Helga.

"I can't believe Lila has a doctors' appointment today of all days! School starts in three days, Arnold!" Helga complained.

Arnold was sorry but he was starting to get annoyed with Helga's attitude. "She's about a month along and we have to see if the baby's alright."

"I get that, but you have all her other appointments to be there for. It takes nine months for a baby to, you know, bake," Helga insisted. "Today was supposed to be our day."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Most days are _our _days, but priorities change when there's a baby on the way. And we've spent every day together since I asked you out. Just give me this one afternoon checking on my son."

Helga raised her eyebrows. "You know she's having a boy?"

Arnold just smiled. "No, but I've always wanted a son to play catch with. I never got to play catch with my dad because I was a baby when I last saw my parents leave for that jungle…" Arnold's voice trailed off and he began to get sad.

Suddenly, Helga had more compassion for him. "I'll go with you to Lila's appointment." She was determined to be a good and supportive girlfriend. She had enough clothes for school and Phoebe always got over $100 worth of school supplies and she could always share with her.

Arnold smiled again. "Are you sure? You don't have to go? I was going to ask you anyway, but I can see how it'd be awkward for you."

Helga tossed her head back and laughed. "Awkward to see my boyfriend and his psycho girlfriend that tried to kill me have a baby together? Please, that's just another weekend."

Arnold couldn't help but laugh at Helga's sarcasm. She sure knew how to make weird situations funny and easier to deal with. That's what he loved about her. But Helga didn't know how much longer she could make jokes and act like she's not hurt about this. As if she was actually mad about not going school shopping today. Please! She's mad because Lila's like a boomerang. Once they think she's gone she's back in their lives again.

**JAIL IN UPSTATE OREGON**

The jail has a doctors' office for pregnant people or people with other medical emergencies while they're in jail.

Lila saw Arnold walk into the doctors' office and she rushed up to him as if they were still together and hugged him. "Arnold! I'm so glad you're here!" Then she saw Helga standing next to him, frowning with her arms folded. "Oh, umm, hi Helga. I didn't know you were coming, too," she said awkwardly.

Helga linked up with Arnold's arm. "Why wouldn't I be here? I'm his _new _girlfriend."

Lila remained smiling. "Well, it's nice of you to come here and check on _our _baby," she said grabbing Arnold's free arm.

"Where's Rhonda? Have you or her dropped the soap and become some big girl's bitch yet?" Helga fired back.

Lila seemed to be ignoring that statement. "They wouldn't let Rhonda over here because she didn't need a doctor," Lila said sadly. "They made her stay over in jail working."

Suddenly, the doctor called Lila's name. All three of them walked to the door next to the check in window.

"Okay, Lila Sawyer and what is the father of your baby's name?"

"Arnold Shortman." Arnold replied.

Dr. Grey looked at Helga. "Who are you?"

Helga raised an eyebrow. "I'm his current girlfriend."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry, but the only other people allowed back here are the child's father or a relative of one of the parents," Dr. Grey responded.

Helga forced a smile. "That's fine. I'll just sit out here and wait."

"Sorry, Helga." Arnold said sadly.

Helga just nodded in response. As they went into the room without Helga, she knew that a lot of her life with Arnold from now on would be like this. She's the girl he ultimately picked, but Lila would always have one up on her. She'd always have a life with Arnold that Helga couldn't relate to. And Lila knew that.

**TO BE CONTINUED… **

**_Part 4_**

Lila and Arnold walked out of the doctors' office about an hour later. Helga was perusing through an old Vogue magazine until she saw Arnold come out and she perked up.

"How'd it go, baby?" She eagerly asked Arnold.

"We're having a boy!" Lila said as if Helga had been asking her. "He's totally healthy so far and if all goes according to plan, AJ should be here around May."

"AJ's the name we picked out already," Arnold explained. "Arnold, Jr."

"Yeah, I cracked that code," Helga said somewhat coldly. "And May? Arnold, that's when we have finals! Our junior and senior years count the most if we want to go to a good college!"

Arnold put a hand around Helga's shoulder. "We'll talk about this later."

"Bye, sweetie, I have to go back to my cell," Lila said surprisingly cheerily for someone who's in jail.

**HELGA'S HOUSE**

Helga's sitting on her bed pouting. "What are we going to do about this baby?"

Arnold was trying to remain calm. "We're just going to have the baby and go to school and do everything else we planned on doing."

"Me and you? Or you and Lila?" Helga snapped.

"Me and Lila are just having a baby together and I _have _to be there for AJ. But _you're _the one I want to be with now."

Helga scoffed. "Yeah. _Now." _

Arnold was starting to get fired up now. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You and I had an off and on flirtmance throughout the years. You liked Lila, then you didn't like her, then you fell in love with her. Only recently you claimed you're so in love with me. Maybe next week you'll be back to Lila," Helga concluded.

Arnold couldn't believe his ears. "Will you listen to yourself? Lila is no good! I realize that now. Believe me, if there was no baby involved, I would never want to see that bitch again. Plus, she probably wants us to argue, Helga. Don't you get it? Don't let her win!" Arnold said.

"Of course she wants us to argue! Doi! And she already has won, Arnold. Even if you and I stay together, she's still going to be in our lives regardless. You made sure of that when you fucked her," Helga rolled her eyes.

Arnold had no response for that at first. "I'm so sorry I hurt you, Helga," he said quietly. "I don't know what else to tell you. I haven't even told my grandparents about this yet. I haven't thought about next year and what happens with the baby when I leave for school. Or getting a job."

Helga felt bad, too. "Your grandparents and the boarders will help out as much as they can. Plus, Oskar and Susie have been trying for a baby. They'd love to take care of yours."

Arnold smiled. He went in and kissed Helga. He gently pushed her down and tried to get on top of her, but she stopped him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I had to stop you before things went too far, Arnold," Helga explained.

Arnold was confused. "Too far how? Like sex?"

"Yeah, Arnold, I can't have sex with you," Helga admitted.

"Why not? We're really great together and I love you. But I'm not going to pressure you into anything too soon. You're too much of a lady for that." Arnold understood.

"Well it's not just that it's too soon. That's a big part of it, too. But there's something else. I'm a virgin and ever since I fell in love with you, I always wanted us to be each other's first and now it can never happen that way. That slut defiled you," Helga's voice saddened.

"But I'll never be a virgin again. So does that mean we can never have sex?" Arnold had to choose his words carefully. "Not that I have a problem with that. I get a thrill just being with you."

"I guess that is what it means. We can never have sex because now it won't be special," Helga said simply.

"I respect you decision 100%, Helga," Arnold was honest. He had always cared more about unlocking the heart of a girl than unlocking her bra, but he hoped it wouldn't be too hard to be celibate. He couldn't resist Lila and she turned out to be evil. How could he resist the sweet goddess with the heart of gold (who happens to be hot now) Helga Pataki?

_Besides, having sex so far has majorly changed his life and he has to move everything around to accommodate for this baby. Unlike Lila, I actually care about Arnold's future. Nothing against AJ, but Arnold was dumb as hell for not waiting to have sex. He should have waited for me longer, _Helga thought to herself.

**TO BE CONTINUED… **

**_Arnold and Helga: Finally Together_**

**_Part 5_**

"So you cut Arnold off from sex completely?" Nadine asked Helga. Nadine started hanging out with Phoebe and Helga shortly after Rhonda, Lila and Harold went to jail. Phoebe, being the nice girl that she is saw Nadine was crying all the time and felt the need to comfort her and invite her to starting hanging out with her and Helga. They found out that Nadine was quite nice and cool considering whom she used to be friends with.

"Pretty much," Helga mumbled. "Oh, and Uno." She, Nadine and Phoebe were playing cards at Nadine's house.

"You can at least have sex after you're married, right? We all know you two are going to end up together forever," Phoebe giggled.

"No!" Helga insisted. "He's already broken and plus since he slept with _Lila _of all people that'd be FBA."

Phoebe and Nadine exchanged confused glances.

Helga rolled her eyes. "Fucking by association. What that basically means is that every person you sleep with, you sleep with who they slept with and so on and so forth and I don't want any part of Lila. I just wish he could have waited for me and we could have been each other's one and only."

Nadine looked at her blue and red cards. "But you can't change the past. I'm not saying you should have sex. I think it's wise to wait, but make sure you're doing it for the right reasons."

"It's not just the 'starting fresh' thing I'm concerned about," Helga admitted. "Arnold's life has already been ruined by sex. I don't want to ruin our lives anymore by risking having a baby too soon. He's already having a baby he's not ready for."

"Uno!" Phoebe exclaimed. "And yeah that's understandable. I mean, babies don't ruin lives but Arnold has a lot of responsibility on his hands already. Of course you don't want to stress him out more than he already is."

"Yeah, and I can't tell him any of this. He's actually…_excited _ about having a son," Helga said disappointedly.

"I know this slows down things in your new relationship with Arnold, but you're still happy for him, right? I mean you're kind of the stepmom," Nadine tried to cheer Helga up.

"Yeah. _Kind of. _Arnold and Lila are the real parents. It's like they're going to be a family and I'm Arnold's annoying girlfriend for wanting his time instead of him spending time with Lila and their son," Helga groaned.

"Hmm, if only you and Arnold had something that was just yours and not Lila's," Phoebe suggested.

Nadine was confused. "You mean like a baby? Helga just said she wasn't going to have sex."

"I think Phoebe means something like a pet that Arnold and I would both take care of. But he already has Abner," Helga said.

"Well, just spend time Arnold and Abner together. That way he and Lila will have a baby and you and Lila will have a pig," Phoebe smiled.

"This is crazy," Nadine rolled her eyes. "Arnold's having a baby. What you guys are basically suggesting is start another 'family' with something else just so you can be tied with Lila."

"Well, Lila's 3 and I'm 0. She was his first love and his first time, plus she's having his first baby. I have nothing!" Helga frowned and put her cards back on the table.

Nadine smiled and put her hand over Helga's hand. "You have his heart and he realized he's in love with you now. Isn't that enough?"

Helga really thought about it. She had gradually grown more confident over the years, but she still had her insecurities from time to time. Lila still being in the picture wasn't helping and she kept imaging her perfect smile and sweet voice as she talked about Arnold and her having a baby together.

"Nope," Helga admitted. "I'm having sex with Arnold tonight."

Phoebe was confused. "But what about not wanting to complicate his life anymore? And wanting to a virgin when you get married?"

"Yeah, all that's true. We'll just have to use protection so he doesn't end up raising two kids at once," Helga decided.

"What about your abstinence pledge?" Nadine asked.

"Look, Arnold was really all over me last night. And yes, it was great that I showed self-control and told him no sex, but at the same time, sex is the least I can do for the poor guy. I mean, after the attitude I gave him about him and Lila's baby. Plus, it took me so long to get him and I don't want to start disappointing him already. I know Arnold's the one," Helga concluded.

"Lila said that before _she _and Arnold had sex," Nadine muttered.

"Well it's different with us," Helga rolled her eyes. "I'm going to the store to get some condoms. I hear Trojan's a good brand."

**WALGREENS**

It couldn't be any more obvious that Helga was a virgin. She was in the condoms aisle not knowing what kind to even get. There were so many choices! Extra ribbed, lubricated, Fire and Ice, Jumbo sized…she could feel couples staring at her as she fumbled around trying to decide which ones to get for her first time. She eventually settled on lubricated and checked out at the register.

**ARNOLD'S HOUSE**

Helga knocks on the door and Grandpa Phil answers. "Is Arnold home?" she asked.

"Sure, the boy's upstairs in his room," Phil replied.

Helga went to Arnold's room and knocked.

"Helga! I thought tonight was your girls' night," Arnold was surprised to see her.

"It was and it was great, but now I have a surprise for you," Helga had never been good at acting sexy. She took off her top and her capri pants and awkwardly put her hand on her hip.

Arnold raised an eyebrow. "Helga, what's going on?"

"I decided that I wanted to be with you, Arnold. And I mean that in every sense of the word. I'm finally deciding to give you everything you want," Helga stated.

"Well, what about your abstinence and not wanting to complicate things? I don't want to pressure you into anything. I'm sorry again for yesterday," Arnold said.

"Yeah, but now I know that you're the love of my life and I don't care who you slept with before me. I may not be your first, but I want to be your last," Helga smiled.

Arnold smiled back. "We'd need condoms."

"Way ahead of you," Helga said excitedly. She went to lie down in Arnold's bed as she waited for him to get undressed. God, he was built. Thin, but muscular and you could literally bounce a quarter off his abs. Then, he dropped his boxers. Oh, God, she hoped the condoms she bought would be big enough. She hated Lila, but now she knew why she was smiling all the time. He crawled into bed with Helga. Arnold had already gotten completely naked. "Umm, I guess it's my turn, now," she said. She slipped out of her lacy underwear and unhooked her bra. She was kind of embarrassed at first because no one had ever seen her naked. She was trying to cover herself up until Arnold got on top of her and started kissing her. She leaned back and closed her eyes. Arnold unwrapped one of the condoms and put it on. Helga bit her lip.

"Don't worry," Arnold said. "I'll be gentle," he said kissing her on the forehead. And he was gentle, yet aggressive. Helga's eyes rolled to the back of her head. She had never had such amazing feelings in her body before. He knew exactly what she wanted and how to give it to her. It was hard to get it in at first because she was a virgin, but once she got the hang of it, she was a pro at sex. They were so in sync with each other.

After they made love, Helga didn't want to let go of Arnold. She kept holding onto him.

"So, how was I?" Helga had to ask.

Arnold smiled big. "Honestly, the best I ever had."

Helga smiled and laid in Arnold's arms. That was all she needed to hear. She finally had one up on Lila. She just hoped they could get through whole baby with the ex-girlfriend thing together.

**TO BE CONTINUED… **

**_Part 6_**

It was Sunday and school started tomorrow. Helga still lay in Arnold's arms that morning. She couldn't stop smiling. She and Arnold had finally done it. She was quite content with herself. How many girls can crush after a guy for so long and finally start dating him after many years? He had a girlfriend a little over a month ago, but Arnold was finally hers. This was what persistence was all about.

Arnold finally woke up. "Good morning, beautiful," he said, smiling.

"Good morning," Helga replied back.

"Any regrets about last night?" Arnold had to ask.

"None. None at all," Helga said, not taking her eyes off of him.

Suddenly, Susie came knocking on Arnold's door. "Arnold?"

"Oh, shit," Arnold was worried. He hadn't even told the boarders or his grandparents about the _last time _he had a girl in his room. "Umm, hold on a minute, Susie," Arnold said scrambling around to find his clothes.

He finally met Susie at his bedroom door. "Lila sent you a letter from jail. Oskar opened it," Susie seemed disappointed in Arnold about something.

"So? She's probably just—trying to get back with me, I guess?" Arnold searched for answers.

Susie was done beating around the bush. "She sent you a sonogram of your baby with her? Apparently, you rushed out so fast the other day, you didn't get the picture."

Arnold didn't know what else to do other than get defensive. "What was your husband doing opening my mail anyway?"

Susie rolled her eyes. "We all know Oskar's lazy and nosy with nothing to do while I'm at work all day, but that's not the point. When were you going to tell us that you and your ex-girlfriend were having a baby?"

Arnold stared down at his feet. "I don't know. I'm still in shock about it myself."

"We didn't even know you were having sex! And plus, we all thought you of all people would have at least been smart enough to be safe about it! What about college and what about your current girlfriend? You changed your future drastically and basically lost your virginity to the wrong girl! Lila's a convict and now you're stuck raising a child with her," Susie was upset. Over the years, the boarders all looked out for each other, like a big, happy, sometimes dysfunctional family.

But Arnold wasn't in the mood for this. "Don't you think I know all this, Susie? But what's done is done. I made a mistake, but at least I'm being man enough to take care of his son _and _still build a nice future for myself and Helga."

Susie smiled. "I knew you'd do the right thing, Arnold. I just wish we knew Lila was pregnant. Your grandparents and the rest of us will all be there for you. You know that."

"Thanks," Arnold said.

Suddenly, Helga tripped trying to find her clothes. Susie heard this. "What's going on in here?" Susie moved Arnold out of the way and went into his room. She saw Helga lying on the floor half dressed.

Helga covered up. "Umm, hi, Susie," was all she could think to say.

Susie looked back at Arnold as if she knew exactly what Helga and Arnold were doing. "Are you trying to have _two_ babies on the way, Arnold?"

There was no longer any sense in Arnold trying to cover up the fact that he was sexually active now. "I used protection with Helga, Susie."

Susie turned to Helga. "Are you on birth control?"

Helga looked down at the floor and shook her head no.

"Then you're not fully protected! Come with me, girl, we're going to Planned Parenthood and setting you up with some kind of birth control," Susie insisted.

Helga didn't really have a choice. Her parents and Olga live in New York and she sure couldn't ask Phoebe's conservative parents for birth control. They'd freak out if they knew she and Gerald had been sleeping together. "Okay, let's go."

Arnold kissed Helga on the cheek before she left with Susie. "Call you later, baby."

Susie and Helga had been gone for a few hours before Bill Sawyer came pounding on the door. Gertie answered the door. She actually looked scared. "Where's that little football headed grandson of yours that knocked up my sweet little Lila?" He yelled.

Arnold heard the commotion downstairs and went to see what was going on. "Umm, hi, Mr. Sawyer. I guess Lila told you the news?" Arnold said nervously.

"You mean the news that you deflowered my angel? She was saving herself for marriage! It's bad enough that she's in jail for trying to kill your new little girlfriend in self-defense, but now you've got her pregnant. _And _you broke her heart!"

Arnold almost laughed. "Self-defense? Is that what she told you?"

"Yeah, she told me all about how this Helga bitch moved out of town then came back in town to get you away from her. She only tried to kill the bitch because she was worried for her life! Helga sounds like a stalker!" Mr. Sawyer yelled.

"Mr. Sawyer, you don't even know the whole story and Lila's not the sweet innocent person you think she is. I was fooled by her, too," Arnold said as gently as he could.

"Well, are you going to marry her and make her an honest woman when she gets out of jail? As far as I can tell her only crime is that she made the mistake of loving and fucking a football headed jerk like you. And she told me about how you dangled your new tramp in front of her when you went to the doctors' office the other day!" Mr. Sawyer was angry.

Arnold had never been a violent person at all and he would never throw the first punch, but without thinking he balled up his fist and hit Bill Sawyer square in the face.

When Mr. Sawyer got up, he sputtered out, "you'll never get away for what you've done to this family, boy!" And then he got in his car and drove away.

Arnold hoped what he'd just done wouldn't come back and bite him in the ass. He's getting sick of the Sawyer family as it is.

**TO BE CONTINUED… **

**_Part 7_**

It was finally Arnold, Helga, Gerald, Phoebe's and everyone else's first day of school! All four of them walked in together. They greeted Nadine at her locker.

"Hey, you guys," she saw that she was somewhat of a fifth wheel. "This is the year I get myself a boyfriend," she said, closing her locker.

"Don't worry, you're great! You won't have any problem getting a boyfriend," Phoebe said, cheerfully.

"Yeah, I shouldn't," she agreed. She waited until Arnold and Gerald went to go catch up with Sid, Stinky and the other guys before she finished talking. "I kind of started…hanging out with someone towards the end of the summer. I was hesitant to tell you guys at first, but I think I can trust you, now."

"Oh, my God! Who is it?" Helga had to know. Over the years she had slowly but surely become girlier and liked to gossip now.

Suddenly, this tall Italian with tattoos and gelled back hair comes up to Nadine's locker. "You ready to go to class, baby?" Big Gino was the guy Nadine was talking about.

Phoebe was surprised. Nadine was smart and very involved in science and other academics. What could she and this wannabe gangster have in common? "How did you two, umm, meet?" Phoebe had to ask.

"With, umm, college starting year she needed a few extra bucks so she came to work for me. I guess you can say we fell in love then," Big Gino smiled.

Helga rolled her eyes. "What kind of work?" There were rumors that Big Gino and his friends were in some type of Italian mafia and she sure didn't want her new friend into something illegal.

Big Gino just kept smiling. "My old man's an auto mechanic and I've been working with him since I was 12. Deeny here is the phone answerer for our business."

"Yeah, I had no idea he even worked there until I went into apply," Nadine said dreamily.

"Umm, Babe I gotta go check out my new locker. Catch ya later," he said, winking at Nadine.

Nadine goofily waved back at him. "Isn't he amazing? Now we can all triple date with each other!"

"If you're happy, we're happy. But be careful. Big Gino has a reputation at Oregon High," Helga was honest.

"I've never seen him with other girls," Nadine said, cluelessly.

"Umm, I think Helga's referring to the mob thing. You remember when he and his friends gave Sid that swirly back in the fourth grade. Isn't he a loan shark or something?" Phoebe asked.

"He's not like that anymore," Nadine insisted. "He helps run a legitimate family business now."

"Well, that's good. Just take things slow and be careful with this guy," Helga advised.

"Like you were with Arnold the other night?" Nadine asked.

Helga glared at Phoebe. "You told her?! Yes, I'm no longer a virgin and it was great, but we might have a problem."

"Please don't tell me you're pregnant now," Phoebe sighed.

"No, he punched Lila's dad in the face and what if he goes to jail for it. He just came over to Arnold's house yelling and screaming at him for what he did to Lila and he lost it and punched him!" Helga explained.

"Ooh, I'm sure he won't go to jail. After all, he was on Arnold's property. Arnold can say he got scared," Nadine pointed out.

"I hope so," Helga muttered.

**HOMEROOM**

Everyone loved homeroom. It was the one class where you had no work to do. It was basically just an advisory class. Or a place to do any leftover homework. Kind of like study hall. Arnold, Helga, Gerald, Phoebe, Nadine and Big Gino are all talking and laughing until suddenly someone all too familiar walks into the classroom. It was Lila. She was still wearing her prison orange and she was still a prisoner being accompanied by a guard, but she was still in the classroom no less. Everyone in the room froze. Arnold and his friends and classmates all knew that Lila was in jail for attempted murder. What was she doing here?

"Arnold, darling, I'm still locked up, obviously, but apparently prison food is making me throw up and it's not good for the baby so I have to go grocery shopping for certain things. Dr. Grey gave me a list of what I could and couldn't eat," Lila explained. "Hi, Nadine," she added awkwardly.

Nadine just looked away and Lila's smile quickly faded.

"What are doing here, then?" Helga demanded.

Ignoring Helga's bitter tone Lila replied, "Dr. Grey said that it was best for both parents to go grocery shopping to get used to doing it so they _both _know what to get."

"But Arnold's in school now. I'm sure they won't excuse him for this," Gerald pointed out.

"Actually, we would," Mr. Wording, the homeroom teacher said. "The Oregon High handbook would call this a family emergency. Get back when you can, Arnold."

Helga quickly stood up. "Arnold, could I go with you and help?"

"No, Helga," Arnold said firmly. "This is something Lila and I have to do. You'd just get in the way."

Helga sat down and tears started welling up in her eyes. When everyone saw Arnold and Lila walk out of the classroom and how shut down Helga felt, she could feel everyone staring at her. She was humiliated. The love of her life had once again walked out with Lila instead of her. Everyone knew she and Arnold were together, but everyone also knew Lila was having his baby and she was a top priority—again. Helga refused to let anyone see her cry, so she leaned over to Phoebe and Nadine and whispered, "is it too late to take my virginity back from Arnold?" She was only half joking.

**TO BE CONTINUED… **

**_Part 8_**

Helga, Nadine, and Phoebe all had good days at school the first day. They liked all their teachers and so far the work was easy. The lunch wasn't half bad this year either. But in the back of Helga's mind, she was still thinking of Arnold's harsh words from earlier that morning. "You can't go. You'd just get in the way. This is for me and Lila _only." _Of course, she'd continue to put on a strong front. Even when her friends asked continued to ask her about in the cafeteria at lunchtime.

"Are you sure you're not upset about Arnold leaving with Lila earlier?" Phoebe asked, taking a sip of her milk.

"No, I'm fine," Helga insisted. "If Arnold wants to help his baby mama in the middle of school I have no choice but to be fine with it." _So what if I've loved him my whole life? So what if I lost my virginity to him and shared something so special with him? So what if we're both going to be stuck with Lila and that little brat she pops out of her pussy for the rest of our lives? _Helga thought to herself.

"It's okay to be upset. I'd be mad if Big Gino had a baby mama that was taking up all of his time," Nadine said.

"No offense, but there's no way that you can be as much in love with Big Gino as I am with Arnold. You only just now connected with him," Helga pointed out.

Nadine sighed. "You're right. I just hate how Arnold blew you off in front of the whole class."

Helga opened up a bit more. "I just hate how after all these years, it's finally Helga and Arnold, but in so many ways, it's still Lila and Arnold. In a weird way, they're going to be a family. Where does that leave me?"

"Well, it's not like he's in love with her anymore," Phoebe said.

"Lila has a way of getting what she wants. She always has. Her dad thinks she's completely innocent. She wormed her way into Arnold. What if she gets him back once she has the baby?" Helga worried.

"That won't happen. Arnold's way too into you," Nadine said.

**HELGA'S HOUSE**

After school, Phoebe and Nadine asked if she wanted to get together to do homework, but Helga insisted on being alone. Phoebe went to Gerald's house and Nadine went to Big Gino's auto mechanic shop. Helga had finished her homework early so she took a nap. It was all she really felt like doing.

The she felt her cell phone vibrate. It was Arnold. His picture ID on her phone was a picture of them kissing. She clicked ignore after two rings and went back to sleep.

Suddenly, she heard Miriam's voice jerking her awake. "Helga, Arnold's here! I told him you're up in your room."

_Oh, shit, _Helga thought.

Arnold knocked on her bedroom door. Helga rolled her eyes and answered the door. "What do you want?" she said with no enthusiasm.

"Umm, I want to know why my girlfriend ignored my call and has been acting weird ever since this morning," Arnold demanded.

"YOU TOLD ME IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE CLASS THAT I'D GET IN THE WAY OF YOU AND LILA'S GROCERY SHOPPING AND YOU DIDN'T WANT TO ME COME ALONG!" Helga shouted at the top of her lungs. She had been holding that in all day.

Arnold was taken aback. He had to explain his weird behavior earlier. "I only acted that way because I didn't want you to be bored and going back forth with Lila. I don't need that stress and neither does the baby."

"Even so, you're making her a top priority in your life again, Arnold. I just hate that we have to wait until May when we find out if the baby's really yours," Helga muttered.

"Are you really going to go there with me today? That is my baby!" Now Arnold was upset.

"Wake up, Arnold. She's most likely been hooking up with Arnie for years," Helga scoffed.

"The only reason why you don't want this baby to be mine is because you can't stand the fact that I'm having this baby with Lila!" Arnold fired back.

"Damn it, can you blame me? She tried to kill me! And she tried so hard to keep us apart," Helga pointed out.

"Yeah, she shouldn't have conspired to kill you," Arnold admitted. "But let's face it: things were a lot easier when you were driving to New York with your family. You've always been so much drama, for me Helga and the way you're acting now just proves it. I mean, one minute you like me and the next minute you're calling me names. One minute you swear off sex, then the next minute you're all for it. Lila may not be perfect and she may have turned out to be crazy, but at least with her I know where I stand. I know that if she's happy to see me in the morning, she'll still be happy in the evening. All this happened because you came back to Oregon to decide you wanted to be with me at the last minute," Arnold said bluntly.

"If I'm nothing but drama, then why are you with me?" Helga asked.

"I honestly don't know. I'm going back to Lila. Like I said, she's crazy, but I know where her heart is. She never got mad at me even after I had her put in jail. You got mad at me just for wanting to be good dad," Arnold said.

"Arnold, please don't-" Helga started, but Arnold was already walking out the door.

**UPSTATE OREGON JAIL**

Arnold didn't know what he was thinking, talking to Helga like that and breaking up with her, but it had to be done. She'd been nothing but difficult and given him nothing but attitude ever since Lila announced she was pregnant. He knew that Lila would always love him and not give him any drama. He looked at his phone. 4 missed calls from Helga.

He saw Lila sitting outside playing cards with Rhonda and some other inmates. Lila turned around and was surprised to see him. "Sweetie, what are you doing here now? Our next doctors' appointment isn't until next week," Lila was curious.

"I left Helga. I decided that I want to be with you. Me, you, and AJ can be the happy family we're meant to be," Arnold told her.

Lila smiled. "Oh, my God, Arnold, I knew you'd finally come to your senses!" She hugged him. Lila and Arnold were back together.

**LATER THAT NIGHT AT JAIL…**

"When are you going to tell Arnold about the fight you got into when you got back from grocery shopping with him?" Rhonda asked.

Lila still remembered the fight from earlier that day. One of the inmates, Big Bertha, had been giving Rhonda and Lila a hard time since they first got there. She's a scary looking woman. 6'4, 300 pounds, covered in prison tattoos, had robbed over 50 liquor stores and murdered over 150 people. Of course, she thought Rhonda and Lila were easy targets once she heard that they tried to get rid of some high school girl and they couldn't even do that. But Rhonda and Lila are usually together. Today, Big Bertha saw Lila coming back from the grocery store and the moment she saw that Lila was alone, she jumped her. Lila's only 5'1, and 100 pounds even with the baby, and being caught off guard, she really couldn't fight. She would have beaten Rhonda, too, but while Lila was gone, Rhonda was with a group of girls playing cards and watching TV. When the guards came back, they put Bertha in solitary confinement for the rest of the week. She went to the doctor and found out that she lost the baby.

"I'm going to have to get pregnant with another baby by Arnold, Rhonda," Lila said simply.

**TO BE CONTINUED… **

**_Part 9_**

"Are you crazy?" Rhonda asked Lila. "You dodged a bullet by not being another teen mom out here and now you want to get pregnant _on purpose?"_

"Arnold really wants this child and I'm sad that I lost it. I _have _always wanted a baby and who better to have it with then Arnold?" Lila insisted.

"But Arnold said he wants to be with _you! _Before, he was dating Helga and he was only around you for the baby, but he just dumped her anyway. You don't have to have a baby for him to stay," Rhonda said desperately trying to convince her.

"But I was barely a month along. I can get pregnant by Arnold again next time he comes here and he'll never know I lost the first one," Lila planned it out.

"It's like I told you the _last _time you were pregnant: you're in jail. Your baby will see you in jail and the first 10 years of his life you'll be a messed up family. Not to mention the fact that you're 16 and any more education you get have will be from here. Plus, he's the guy that turned us in! And he was just dating Helga, how long before he starts up with her again? This all seems like a bad idea. Just cut your losses and move on, girl. If he wants to date you while you're in here, fine, but slow down with the baby thing, please, as my friend?" Rhonda still cared very much about Lila as a friend and as a person.

"If I decide to go through with this, it'd have to be ASAP," Lila said quietly. She knew there was some truth in what Rhonda had said, but she and Arnold still wanted this child. They still wanted to be a family.

**THE NEXT DAY AT JAIL**

Arnold was actually hoping for a conjugal visit with Lila today. It had been a few days since he had sex with his last girlfriend. He really felt great about being with Lila again. She's always so cheerful. Helga's a little too…tortured for him. He could swear that if she started cutting herself she'd be an emo.

Lila and Rhonda were in their room. Arnold didn't know how anyone could be so happy in a room like this. Even Lila. This room was rusty, small, old, and rundown. Princess Rhonda couldn't have been too happy here. This is a huge switch from her mansion. This room was smaller than her private bathroom! And a lot darker.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone," Rhonda rolled as eyes as she walked out of the room. She despised her friend's plan.

Lila walked over to her small plain twin sized bed. "Well, these are my quarters," Lila joked. "I'm really glad we're back together, Arnold," she said more seriously.

"I'm glad we're back together, too," Arnold said. "I've missed being with you." He leaned over and kissed her. She kissed back. Arnold kissed Lila's neck and she groaned. He rolled over on his back and pulled Lila on top of him, still kissing her. Lila felt Arnold's pants. Oh, my God he was so ready. And so was she. Lila unzipped her orange prison jumpsuit helped Arnold out of his shirt. Arnold took off his pants and got on top of Lila and started kissing her. He kissed her lower and lower and began to run his hands over her petite, toned body. Arnold and Lila finally both took off their underwear. Arnold got back on his back and Lila crawled on top of him. He was deep stroking her and she couldn't help calling his name out. She was gripping on her bed. While he was stroking her, she leaned over and French kissed him, making their love making even more intense. Then, he rolled her over so he was on top and began thrusting in and out of her. They both were having multiple orgasms and calling out each other's names. Lila was sure she was pregnant again as many times as he had come inside her. Everything was going great until Arnold's phone went off. He was really into a groove with Lila and didn't want to answer it, but it rang about 20 times.

Lila smiled. "Honey, just go check your phone."

Arnold got off of Lila and dug his phone out of his pants pocket. There were calls from Helga and Gerald on his phone. He called Gerald back.

"Arnold, what do you think you're doing? Helga's heartbroken. You shouldn't be with Lila," Gerald said.

"Yeah, I'm with her now. I'll call you back and tell Helga to stop calling me. I'm tired of her being over dramatic," Arnold told Gerald. They hung up.

Arnold leaned over and kissed Lila. He grabbed his clothes and went to use Rhonda and Lila's bathroom. He could faintly hear Rhonda's voice in the room after a few minutes.

"So, are you pregnant again, yet?" Rhonda said, not realizing that Arnold was in the bathroom.

Lila raised her eyebrows. "Oh my God, shut up! He's still here!"

"Oh, my God, I thought he left! Maybe he didn't hear me," Rhonda said. Secretly, she wouldn't mind if Arnold heard her. The baby thing was a mistake. At least right now, anyway.

Arnold was dressed again and walked out of the bathroom. "What do you mean pregnant _again_, Lila? What the hell is going on here?" Arnold demanded.

Lila burst into tears. "Arnold, I _was _pregnant, honest. But some big girl jumped me after I saw you the other day and I lost it. I was trying to get pregnant again before you found out. I know how much you wanted AJ."

Arnold sat down on his bed, unsure how to take the news. "I don't know what to think. I wasn't ready for a baby now, anyway, but I do still want a son someday," Arnold admitted. "The thing is that having sex without a condom before was irresponsible. I only did it this time because I figured what harm could it do if you were already pregnant? But doing it unprotected on purpose was dumb."

"That's what I said!" Rhonda chimed in. She saw Lila glaring at her. "Sorry," she said quietly.

"I'd better go, baby," Arnold said finally.

"You're not mad?" Lila asked.

"No, you were trying to keep me happy. I could never stay mad at you, Lila," Arnold smiled. And he couldn't. No matter what Lila did, Arnold always seemed to have a special place in his heart for her. Even when she does bad, her intentions are good. Lila really was a ride or die chick. She was in jail because of him and yet she still cared about his feelings.

**TO BE CONTINUED… **

**_Part 10_**

"Hey, since you're dating Arnold again, do you think he can help us get out of this hellhole?" Rhonda asked Lila seriously. Rhonda missed her mansion, her cars, her wardrobe and her freedom. Not to mention Harold, who she hadn't seen in over a month. At least she had Lila, but Harold had no one. Plus, his sentence was longer than theirs. She hates to think of Harold spending his 21st birthday in jail.

"I don't have to ask Arnold. My mom owes me a favor or two," Lila grinned.

"What are you talking about? Have you even spoken to your mom? Does she even know you're in jail?" Rhonda asked.

Sandra Craft-Sawyer was Lila's mother, whom none of Lila's friends have met and few people even know exist. Before Sandra met Bill, she was an heiress, much like Rhonda's mom. The difference is that Rhonda's mom married rich and was able to keep up her lifestyle. Sandra, however, married middle class and while that lifestyle would be fine for normal people, Sandra suffered depression. Obviously, her family still gave her money so she was able to keep doing some of the things she's been used to doing, but Bill was sometimes in between jobs and she hated going back and forth to her parents for money. She wanted a husband that was 100% financially stable. She's been in a mental asylum for the past 14 years, so for much of Lila's life, she hasn't been around. Secretly, her and her father would go visit her and Sandra's family would send Lila and Bill money from time to time, so communication hasn't been completely gone. But they really haven't been a real family in years.

"Well, my dad called yesterday and said that Sandra's back. She wants to be a wife and mother again. She realized that my dad and I were more important than her family's name and money," Lila said excitedly.

"Umm, do you think her and her family will be able to pull some strings and get us out of here?" Rhonda eagerly asked. Obviously, her family had a good name in the town, too, but Rhonda's family pretty much disowned her after the attempted murder scandal. Her parents said that Rhonda had ruined the Lloyd's good name, so she'd have to stay in jail. Lila's family might be a better bet to get them out of jail seeing as her dad thinks she's so innocent and her mom will probably do anything to make up for not being in her life like she should.

"I can call her now. She's at home with my dad," Lila said.

About a half-hour later, Sandra Craft-Sawyer, walked into Lila and Rhonda's room. She looked like an older, only slightly taller and slightly thicker version of Lila. They hugged each other and cried for about 5 minutes.

Finally, Sandra broke the silence. "I'm so sorry you're in here, princess. Maybe you ended up with these abandonment issues because I left when you so young." Lila and Rhonda exchanged confused glances. "I had a lot of group therapy while I was away," Sandra added. "I found a loophole that would get you girls out of here. Your grandparents actually helped me figure this out. You know my dad's a retired lawyer."

"What about Harold?" Rhonda spoke up.

"Yes, all of you would be able to get out," Sandra said. "Now, you committed an attempted murder. That's bad. But now we need to prove that you were justified in trying to poison this Helga girl."

"Well, Sandra, Helga was moving out of town on because her dad's job transferred, but then, Arnold, my boyfriend, found her notebook filled with all kinds of poems and diary entries about how much she hated me and how much she wanted Arnold. So, she called him one day and asked if he had found her notebook and he said yes, and she came down here and she told him she'd move back here for him and she was going to make him fall in love with her," Lila explained.

"So, she seems like a stalker," Sandra was taking notes on what her daughter just said. "The only thing that might complicate this would be that you and your friend attacked her first because she didn't actually put her hands on you."

"Well, yeah, but it's safe to say Lila was scared, right? I mean, Helga leaves town and comes back to get Lila's boyfriend. And honestly, the horrible things that Helga wrote in her notebook say how jealous and insecure she was when Lila was around and even a few times tried to hurt her or get her out of the way so Arnold wouldn't want her anymore," Rhonda pointed out.

Sandra continued writing. "We can get cops to her house and investigate this journal you girls are talking about."

"Well, she's at Phoebe Heyerdahl's house now. She's staying with her friend's family since her family's in New York," Lila stated. "Again, she's only still here in Oregon because of Arnold."

"Okay, if I'll go to the police with this right now," Sandra smiled.

**PHOEBE'S HOUSE (A FEW HOURS LATER)**

It was after school and Helga and Phoebe were just getting off the bus. Gerald was disappointed in Arnold for getting back with Lila, but he still told Helga what Arnold said about not calling him anymore. Helga had never felt so rejected in her whole life. She was just going through the motions: eating, sleeping, school.

Phoebe's voice suddenly distracted her. "What are all these cops doing outside my house?"

Suddenly, Helga went out of zombie-mode. "I don't know, but I can't handle anymore drama this week."

Helga and Phoebe walked into the house and there were a couple of cops downstairs. Then, a cop comes down from Helga's room holding her pink notebook.

His nametag said Officer Dale. "Is this your notebook? Are you Helga Geraldine Pataki?"

Helga's heart stopped cold. "Yes, but—"

Dale cut her off and started reading one of her journal entries. "_Things would be so much easier for me and Arnold if Lila were out of the way. Every time, I think she's out of the picture she comes back. She's like a witch. You cut off her head and one grows back. It's just so annoying how she always gets her way and how she always digs her claws into Arnold. She's not even all that when you think about it. I know for a fact that I'm more compatible with Arnold than she is. I just can't seem to get rid of her." _

Helga remembered writing that. Helga also remembered pushing Lila into a pool by "accident" and trying to sabotage her a few times over the years, but this was crazy. Unlike Lila, she had never gone through with it. Lila and her friends actually tried to kill her. Helga only tried to embarrass Lila. "Officer, I can explain—"

Dale cut her off again. "According to the dates in this notebook, you tried to get rid of her long before she got rid of you, you've been obsessed with her boyfriend for years, and you even moved back here just to get closer to Arnold? Is all that correct, yes or no?"

"Yes," Helga said quietly.

"Please don't send my best friend to jail!" Phoebe cried hysterically.

"We don't know if we can send you to jail, but stalking is a pretty serious offense," Dale told them. "We have everything we need, now, though." Dale and the other cops left.

"What the hell just happened here?" Helga panicked.

Phoebe's parents walked into the living room. They were watching everything from the kitchen.

"Why'd you let the cops in here? What did they say they wanted?" Phoebe asked them.

"They told us to wait in the kitchen because they had search warrants. Something about proving that Lila, Rhonda, and Harold had a reason to be afraid of Helga and they might be getting out of jail," Mrs. Heyerdahl said, biting her lip.

Helga just couldn't take anymore. She fainted.

**TO BE CONTINUED… **

**_Part 11_**

The next day Helga didn't want to go to school. Lila, Rhonda, and Harold were getting out of jail today because of some loophole that made Helga look like a crazy stalker. The only reason Helga didn't get a restraining order or go to jail is because legally it just looks like two high school girls fighting over a guy and technically no one was hurt. But the cops and Lila's lawyers did recommend staying away from Helga and it was in Helga's best interest to stay away from Lila and her friends. Helga couldn't believe this! Lila and Rhonda had gotten away with something yet again! And she had to go to school and watch Lila dangle Arnold right in front of her face. The school year was looking so much more promising a few days ago.

Phoebe walked into Helga's room at 7:30 AM. "What are you doing still in bed? The bus gets here in 5 minutes!"

Helga rolled over. "I'm not going to school. Ever! I don't want to face Arnold and Lila again. Believe me, I'd be in New York right now if you and Nadine weren't here because I'm sure not staying for Arnold anymore."

"Helga, don't let them win. They expect you to be overdramatic and crawl into bed forever," Phoebe patted Helga on the back.

"They already won. I hope Lila's happy now. She's out of jail and her and Arnold can be a perfect little family now," Helga said sadly.

"Gerald told me Lila lost the baby," Phoebe blurted out.

"Really?" Helga said enthusiastically. Then she felt bad because she had wished for it when she and Arnold were still together.

"Yeah, but she might be pregnant again," Phoebe rolled her eyes.

"They're already having sex again? Glad to see football head didn't waste any time," Helga shook her head.

"You don't need him. He's an idiot. You still have me, Nadine, and Gerald. Plus, you're an honor student and you have your whole life ahead of you," Phoebe smiled.

It took Helga a few minutes of soul searching, but she finally got up and got dressed for school.

**HOMEROOM**

Just as Helga expected, Arnold and Lila were making out right in front of her when she walked in. Helga wasn't going to take this lying down.

She walked up to Arnold's desk, where Lila was sitting in his lap and cleared her throat. "Arnold, we need to talk."

He looked up from Lila. "Talk about what, Helga? Didn't Gerald tell you to give up. There's a reason I didn't return your calls."

If Arnold was playing hardball, so would she. "Does Lila know that you called her a psycho bitch and that you found her superficial and spoiled? You said we were compatible and that you wanted to spend your life with me less than a week ago. Plus, in bed you said I was the best you ever had. Now you're all over this tramp again?"

"Arnold just said all that stuff about me out of anger, but obviously we're meant to be and you can't get rid of me. Besides, you should hear what he says about you," Lila said.

"Don't even worry about her, Lila. She failed to keep you and Arnold apart. Again," Rhonda and Harold walked into the room.

Harold was eating a popsicle and laughing.

Nadine and Phoebe were at Helga's side, now. "Let's just go. You've been in enough trouble over these people," Nadine whispered to her. The just walked to the other side of the room and sat down. Arnold and Lila and Harold and Rhonda just kept making out.

**ENGLISH CLASS**

Thank God for Helga, the only one she had to deal with in this class was Arnold. The teacher was giving out a partner assignment. The assignment was to make a poetry book. This was right up Helga's alley.

"I've already picked out your partners," Mrs. Jones said. She rattled off some names. "Arnold Shortman and Helga Pataki will be working together.

_Yes! _Helga thought to herself, but she remained calm on the outside.

"Umm, Mrs. Jones, could I have another partner?" Arnold said nervously.

_Most girls would take this as a bad sign, but I know that Arnold doesn't want to work with me because he's worried about falling in love with me again._

"Arnold doesn't want to work with his stalker!" Sid pointed out and the whole class laughed.

Helga rolled her eyes. Sid was always so gullible and believed any rumors or gossip floating around the school.

The school bell rang.

Helga wanted desperately to be alone with Arnold so they could talk. "So, I'll meet you at the boarding house after school so we can do this assignment?" She suggested.

"I don't think so. Let's meet at the library after school," Arnold said.

"Fine," Helga agreed.

**THE LIBRARY (AFTER SCHOOL)**

Arnold and Helga arrived there at the same time. Arnold reluctantly sat down at a table. "Let's get this over with," he said.

"I think before we can do this assignment, we need to get along better. I really don't know what your beef with me is other than the fact that I was basically saying how Lila was using that baby to manipulate you and take you from me," Arnold finally made eye contact with Helga. "And I was right."

"Well, she lost that baby in jail, but this morning, we just found out that she's expecting again. Not that it's any of _your _business," Arnold told her.

"Congratulations," Helga forced herself to say, as she accidentally broke her pen.

"Are you okay, Helga?" Arnold asked.

"No, I'm not," Helga admitted. "One minute you're in love with me and you can't stand Lila and you're only there for the baby. Now you're with her again and at first I couldn't blame you because at one time, you didn't know how I felt about you, but now you've got to know how much that hurts me to see you and her all over each other like that. I just don't know where your heart is half the time, Arnold."

"It's with Lila. I know that now. We've been through a lot together and she's still there for me. Now let's drop it and focus on this poetry book," Arnold said opening his binder.

"Right, this poetry book," Helga said, careful not to look Arnold in the eye. Every time she did, she seemed to break down.

**TO BE CONTINUED… **


End file.
